In the Face of Uncertainty: Fighting for Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

They were politicians, doctors, teachers, police, scientists, and sportswomen. Now? Many hide at home, fearing the Taliban, and wondering what the future will hold.

“How can it be possible for me as a woman who has worked so hard and tried to learn and advance, to now have to hide myself and stay at home?” one woman told the Associated Press.

“I get scared when I think about what will happen to my future, my goals and my dreams,” said one 14-year-old girl.

Every day, the news about girls and women in Afghanistan makes for increasingly grim and alarming reading. Female students have been banned from returning to their studies at Kabul University. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs has been replaced with a Ministry for Preaching and Guidance and the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Two hundred and twenty female judges have gone into hiding, hunted by men they helped to convict who’ve been freed by the Taliban.

As we watch news footage of the Afghanistan women’s youth soccer team fleeing the country, it’s devastating to see that so much progress towards gender equality has been eroded in such a short space of time. Women’s rights are being decimated. Young girls’ lives and future plans utterly changed in a matter of months.

In the face of this human rights catastrophe, I stand with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who reminds us not to “compromise on the protection of women's rights and the protection of human dignity.”

As a woman and a leader, I want us all to be as uncompromising as Malala. Our Elevate Prize winners and their work stand as resounding proof that there are many things we can do, big and small, to make an impact, centering, uplifting, and providing resources:

● We can champion Afghan journalists.

● Donate to organizations with deep experience on the ground, such as Women for Afghan Women, Islamic Relief, and Women for Women International.

● Lobby politicians for the rights of Afghan refugees: Afghans for a Better Tomorrow has a helpful calling script, and the International Rescue Committee has a form email.

● Support people moving into our communities. Here in the U.S., there are volunteer opportunities available to welcome families, help set up apartments, and bring meals.

One of the best parts about my role at The Elevate Prize Foundation is seeing the world-changing impact that one single individual can make. It’s not only inspiring to see people rise to the challenge of creating solutions for some of the most difficult problems of our time, but also empowering to realize we all have the power to step up and reimagine our communities for the better. As Afghani women and girls face their toughest test yet, we will continue to bring visibility to the problem solvers in hope that they, along with the many they inspire, will find a way to restore human rights and dignity.

As Angelina Jolie noted in a tribute to Amanda Gorman, there is “nothing more beautiful, more challenging and more unsettling perhaps than the free mind of the thinking woman. That is surely why so much effort is put into constraining her.” It’s a reminder for all of us to look closer to home. To see where women’s rights are being eroded, and take action, now, for equality.